Good morning! I’m Szymon Erdmański, Producer at Bloober Team, and I’m happy to tell you more about The Medium, which hits PlayStation 5 on September 3rd.
For those who haven’t heard of the game, The Medium is a third-person psychological horror game that features innovative dual-reality gameplay – basically you can play in two worlds at the same time. This unique take on single-player split-screen gameplay is only possible on next-gen hardware like the PS5.
You play as Marianne, a medium who lives in two worlds: our world and a hostile spiritual world. At the start of the game, Marianne is haunted by a strange vision: a little girl murdered by a lake. She comes to believe that she can learn the truth behind the vision in an abandoned hotel complex. Once there, she discovers that years ago the place was the scene of a horrific tragedy and hides a dark mystery that only a medium like her can solve.
Using Marianne’s unique psychic abilities, you must uncover deeply unsettling secrets, solve intriguing dual-reality puzzles, survive encounters with sinister spirits, all while exploring two realities at the same time. A haunting soundtrack co-composed by Bloober Team’s Arkadiusz Reikowski and Silent Hill composer Akira Yamoaka will accompany you on your journey.
DualSense Controller and Dual Reality Horror
On PS5, we’re taking full advantage of the console’s DualSense wireless controller to immerse you even deeper into the mystery of the Niwa Hotel.
Our goal is for you to experience Marianne’s reactions to what is happening as she explores and interacts with the game world, through haptic feedback. For example, when she uses her Spirit Shield ability, you can literally feel yourself in your hands as dozens of spiritual realm butterflies strike the barrier..
Another example is Marianne’s Out of Body ability, which allows you to leave your physical body and explore as a mind only. It’s a bit like diving, you can’t survive too long in this state, you will end up suffocating if you don’t come back. So the longer you stay out of the body, the faster you will feel the controller pulsing, giving you a clue when it’s time to turn back.
Adaptive triggers will not only increase the level of immersion, but also make the controls more intuitive. When you start to charge the Spirit Blast, the medium’s offensive ability, the trigger will resist at first but gradually loosen until it can be fully depressed – this means the breath is also fully charged and ready to discharge. .
These are just a few examples of how the DualSense controller works when playing The Medium on PS5. On top of that, we include support for speakerphone, touchpad, light bar, and controller motion controls.
You can expect many handpicked moments in history enhanced by the functionality of the gamepad… but we obviously won’t spoil them now. We’re keeping a few tricks up our sleeves until you play the game yourself on PS5 on September 3rd. Find out more about The Medium coming soon and thanks for reading!